Research on the personality traits underlying BPD has indicated that emotion dysregulation/negative affectivity and rash actions characterize the behavior of individuals diagnosed with BPD (Ball, Tennen, Poling, Kramzler, & Rounsaville, 1997; Gurvits, Koenigsberg, & Siever, 2000; Linehan, 1993; Paris, 2000; Siever & Davis, 1991; Silk, 2000; Trull, 1992, 2001; Trull et al., 2000). In addition, BPD appears also to be characterized by low 5HT and high DA (Barbe et al., 2005; Friedel, 2004). As we discuss further below, well-validated clinical interventions identify BPD patients’ risky behaviors as responses to their intense affect, and so focus on providing skills in affect management in order to reduce the harm such patients bring on themselves (Linehan, 1993).
